Welcome, Lear, Eliza, Cyrano, Frankensteins (Both of You)

Scott Shepherd in the title role of "Wooster Group Hamlet," opening in October at the Public Theater under the direction of Elizabeth LeCompte.Credit
Paula Court/The Wooster Group

Dates are subject to change.

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SEPTEMBER

♦ STOPPARD GOES ELECTRIC Years before Tom Stoppard became part of the literary and theatrical canon, he wrote teleplays for the BBC. The Boomerang Theater Company has put three of these early television works together under a collective title. The evening includes “A Separate Peace,” directed by Rachel Wood; “Teeth,” directed by Tim Errickson; and “Another Moon Called Earth,” directed by Christopher Thomasson. The company is also offering, in rotating repertory with the Stoppard plays, “Dangerous Corner” by J. B. Priestley and “The Heart Has a Mind of Its Own” by Larry Kirwan. In previews. Opens Sept. 15. Closes Sept. 30. CenterStage/NY, 48 West 21st Street, fourth floor, Chelsea. Theatermania; boomerangtheatre.org.

♦ YOU MAY GO NOW Bekah Brunstetter’s play “To Nineveh” won for outstanding original full-length script at the 2006 New York Innovative Theater awards, which celebrate achievement in Off Off Broadway theater. In her latest, a teenager has been brought up to act like a 1950s housewife (she cooks a perfect pot roast), but once she turns 18, it’s time to face the world. Outside the house, it’s 2007, which complicates things. Opens Sunday. Closes Sept. 29. Upstairs at the 45th Street Theater, 354 West 45th Street, Clinton. Theatermania; babeltheatreproject.org.

♦ A NEW TELEVISION ARRIVES, FINALLY In this black comedy by Kevin Mandel, a nice couple receives a strange visitor who claims he is a television set. That’s reality TV for you. Kevin Kittle directs. In previews. Opens Monday. Closes Sept. 30. Theater 54, 244 West 54th Street, 12th Floor, Manhattan. ANewTelevisionArrivesFinally.com.

KING LEAR Ian McKellen has been traveling the globe, ripping off his clothes (well, except in Singapore) in this production of Shakespeare’s tragedy. But for a play about a king who begins with everything and ends with nothing, disrobing during a powerful storm — “off, off, you lendings!” — certainly highlights the point. The Royal Shakespeare Company is performing “Lear” in repertory with Chekhov’s “Seagull,” in which Mr. McKellen will appear in some performances as Sorin. Both are under the direction of Trevor Nunn. In previews. “King Lear” opens Tuesday; “The Seagull” on Wednesday. Closes Sept. 30. Brooklyn Academy of Music, Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton Street, Fort Greene, (718) 636-4100; bam.org.

♦ THE SHAPE OF METAL Brian Murray directs the American premiere of the Irish playwright Thomas Kilroy’s story of a fictional sculptor, played by Roberta Maxwell. Just before her big opening at the Museum of Modern Art, she and her daughter try to come to terms with the mysterious disappearance of another daughter who walked out many years before. In previews. Opens Wednesday. Closes Sept. 30. Origin Theater Company at 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, Manhattan. Ticket Central; 59e59.org.

♦ TILL THE BREAK OF DAWN This new work, written and directed by Danny Hoch (“Jails, Hospitals and Hip-Hop”), is about a group of New York City artists and teachers devoted to social change who go to Cuba for a hip-hop festival. In Havana they meet a former Black Panther who challenges their commitment to activism. In previews. Opens Thursday. Closes Oct. 21. Culture Project at the Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street, Lower East Side. Theatermania; cultureproject.org.

♦BLIND MOUTH SINGING The National Asian American Theater Company has been staging new plays and revivals with Asian-American casts for almost 20 years. Their latest offering, by Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas, directed by Rubén Polendo, is a surreal tale about a young boy who sneaks out of the house to escape his strict mother and trades places with his best friend, who lives at the bottom of a well. Previews begin Friday. Opens Sept. 19. Closes Oct. 6. Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Avenue. Ticket Central; naatco.org.

ROCK DOVES The latest by Marie Jones, the Olivier Award-winning author behind “Stones in His Pockets,” is about four colorful characters — a homeless guy, an aging hooker, a middle-aged transvestite and a teenager —in Northern Ireland after peace has been declared. Ian McElhinney directs, as he did with “Stones.” In previews. Opens Sept. 16. Closes Oct. 28. Donaghy Theater at the Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51st Street, Manhattan. SmartTix; irishartscenter.org.

100 SAINTS YOU SHOULD KNOW A priest leaves his parish under a cloak of mystery. Familiar? The rest of the story by Kate Fodor (“Hannah and Martin”) is not. Janel Moloney (“The West Wing”) is Theresa, who cleans the rectory of her local parish. Intrigued by the departure, she follows him. One night she and her teenage daughter join the priest and his mother, played by Lois Smith (“The Trip to Bountiful”), and discover unexpected common ground. Ethan McSweeny directs. In previews. Opens Sept. 18. Closes Sept. 30. Playwrights Horizons Mainstage Theater, 416 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Ticket Central; playwrightshorizons.org.

SCARCITY In this world premiere by Lucy Thurber (“Stay”), directed by Jackson Gay, two siblings growing up in western Massachusetts hope to escape poverty and small-town life. When 16-year-old Billy has the chance to move to a new school in another town, the family starts to unravel and his desire to get away clashes with his sense of familial responsibility. In previews. Opens Sept. 20. Closes Oct. 14. Atlantic Theater Company, 336 West 20th Street, Chelsea. Ticket Central; atlantictheater.org.

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: RUDE AWAKENING Gerard Alessandrini has been making fun of Broadway for a long time: this all-new version of sendups and satires will mark the 25th anniversary of the show he created. A clunker on Broadway often yields a gem once Mr. Alessandrini gets hold of it, but even a hit is not exempt from mockery. This edition, written by Mr. Alessandrini and directed by him and Phillip George, includes spoofs of “Legally Blonde,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Grease” and of course “Spring Awakening.” In previews. Opens Sept. 23. 47th Street Theater, 304 West 47th Street, Clinton. Telecharge; forbiddenbroadway.com.

♦ THE POWER OF DARKNESS The Mint Theater Company, true to its reputation for producing little-known works, presents a rare revival of Leo Tolstoy’s 1886 tragedy set in a peasant village, a work that was initially banned in Russia. In previews. Opens Sept. 24. Closes Oct. 28. 311 West 43rd Street, third floor, Clinton, (212) 315-0231; minttheater.org.

♦ THE DINING ROOM The Keen Company’s eighth season opens with a revival of A. R. Gurney’s 1982 play, directed by Jonathan Silverstein, who directed the company’s “Tea and Sympathy” last season. A tour de force for six actors playing more than 50 roles, Mr. Gurney’s play is a series of vignettes about family life in the 20th century — birthday parties, holidays, affairs — that all take place around the same dining room table. Previews begin Tuesday. Opens Sept. 20. Closes Oct. 14. Clurman Theater, Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Ticket Central; keencompany.org.

AMERICAN SLIGO Unexpected guests show up for a family dinner on the eve of the wrestling legend Art (Crazy Train) Sligo’s final match in one of Adam Rapp’s new plays. (See “Bingo With the Indians” below.) Mr. Rapp, the author of “Red Light Winter,” directs. Previews begin Wednesday. Opens Sept. 24. Closes Oct. 14. Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place, West Village. Smarttix; rattlestick.org.

THREE MO’ TENORS Step aside, Luciano, Plácido and José, there are new kids in town. Actually this African-American musical show has been touring the country since 2001. Conceived, directed and choreographed by Marion J. Caffey, the revue includes an assortment of musical genres and composers, from Verdi to Usher. A cast of six singers rotates in different combinations of three each night. Previews begin Wednesday. Opens Sept. 27. Closes Jan. 27. Little Shubert Theater, 422 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Telecharge; ThreeMoTenorsOnTour.com.

♦ FLAGS A play about a family’s loss because of the war in Iraq aims to show how such grief can affect everyone. Written by the mysterious Jane Martin, a playwright who has never made a public appearance and whose name is assumed to be an alias. Previews begin Wednesday. Opens Saturday. Closes Sept. 30. 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, Manhattan. Ticket Central; 59e59.org.

MEDEIA A contemporary version of the mythical Greek tale from the Dood Paard (Dead Horse) experimental theater collective in Amsterdam. The work was created from various sources, including versions by Euripides and Seneca, while the text, in what the company calls Euro-English, is laced with lyrics from American and British pop songs. Sept. 26-30. Performance Space 122, 150 First Avenue, at Ninth Street, East Village. Theatermania; ps122.org.

♦ PRAYER FOR MY ENEMY In this play by Craig Lucas (“Prelude to a Kiss”), in which two childhood friends are reunited just before one heads off for a tour of duty in Iraq, a struggle occurs between doing what is best and what is just. A co-production of the Long Wharf Theater and the Intiman Theater in Seattle. Bartlett Sher directs. Previews begin Wednesday. Opens Sept. 26. Closes Oct. 14. Long Wharf Theater Stage II, 222 Sargent Drive, New Haven, (203) 787-4282, (800) 782-8497; longwharf.org.

THE MISANTHROPE The experimental Flemish director Ivo van Hove, who directed a critically acclaimed production of Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” at New York Theater Workshop in 2004, is messing around with Molière here, with a cast that includes Bill Camp and Joan MacIntosh. Expect an up-to-the-minute interpretation of this 1622 comedy about hypocrisy and flattery in a pretentious world. Previews begin Friday. Opens Sept. 24. Closes Nov. 11. New York Theater Workshop, 79 East Fourth Street, East Village. Telecharge; nytw.org.

♦ CLAY After a successful run last fall at the About Face Theater Company in Chicago, this one-man show, written and performed by Matt Sax, goes west. Developed with and directed by Eric Rosen, artistic director of About Face, Mr. Sax’s story is about Clifford (a k a Clay), a teenager who wants to escape a cold father and a despondent mother who have divorced. Sir John, a mysterious spoken-word guru, teaches Clay to express himself verbally, but the past threatens his future as a hip-hop star. Previews begin Thursday. Opens Sept. 19. Closes Oct. 14. Kirk Douglas Theater, 9820 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, Calif., (213) 628-2772; CenterTheatreGroup.org.

THE RITZ Terrence McNally’s 1975 slapstick comedy is set in a gay bathhouse in Manhattan. In this Roundabout Theater Company revival, when Gaetano Proclo (Kevin Chamberlin) hides out there to escape his homicidal brother-in-law, slamming doors and mistaken identities ensue. Rosie Perez plays the talent-free entertainer Googie Gomez, a role that brought Rita Moreno a Tony Award in the original. The busy Joe Mantello directs — he has two more shows going up before the end of the year: “The Receptionist” and “November” (see below). Previews begin Friday. Opens Oct. 11. Closes Dec. 2. Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street, Manhattan, (212) 719-1300; roundabouttheatre.org.

THE NEW YORK MUSICAL THEATER FESTIVAL This popular three-week event that takes over Midtown each fall is back for a fourth year, with more than 30 full productions and many readings, workshops and concerts. Past successes that developed long lives include “Altar Boyz” and “[title of show].” Sept. 17-Oct. 7. Various locations. Theatermania; nymf.org.

DIVIDING THE ESTATE The way to the future in this family comedy by the esteemed Horton Foote is to confront the past. The New York premiere is directed by Michael Wilson (“Old Acquaintance”) and stars Elizabeth Ashley, Arthur French (“Two Trains Running”) and Hallie Foote (“The Trip to Bountiful”). Previews begin Sept. 18. Opens Sept. 27. Closes Oct. 27. Primary Stages, 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, Manhattan. Ticket Central; primarystages.com.

♦ ESTROGENIUS FESTIVAL This monthlong artistic showcase focuses on works written or created by women, but it includes some by male artists exploring female characters and topics. The eighth annual event consists of short plays, dance pieces, solo shows and visual art. A new program that begins this year, “Voices of Africa,” will include stories about women and children on the African continent and those living as refugees around the world. Sept. 19-Oct. 13. Manhattan Theater Source, 177 Macdougal Street, West Village. Theatermania; theatresource.org.

A CATERED AFFAIR Already scheduled to open on Broadway in April, this new musical kicks off the season at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego. The show, with a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by John Bucchino, in his Broadway debut, is based on Gore Vidal’s screenplay for the 1956 film and Paddy Chayefsky’s 1955 teleplay. A poor Bronx couple must decide whether to spend their life savings on a family business or a lavish celebration of their daughter’s marriage. Starring Faith Prince, Tom Wopat and Mr. Fierstein, with John Doyle (“Company”) directing. Previews begin Sept. 20. Opens Sept. 30. Closes Oct. 28. Old Globe Theater, 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego, (619) 234-5623; oldglobe.org. (Broadway previews begin March 25 at the Walter Kerr Theater, where the show opens April 17.)

♦ NIGHT OVER TAOS Estelle Parsons directs a cast of 25 in a revival of Maxwell Anderson’s 1932 play, the season opener for the Intar Theater. While Pablo Montoya, a Mexican freedom fighter, is resisting the steadily encroaching Americans in 1847, hoping to protect the area that is now New Mexico from being annexed by the United States, his eldest son is conspiring with the enemy. Previews begin Sept. 20. Opens Oct. 1. Closes Oct. 20. Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue, at Ninth Street, East Village, (212) 254-1109; intartheatre.org.

♦ NOWHERE ON THE BORDER In Carlos Lacámara’s drama, directed by José Zayas, a Mexican man searches for his daughter, who has tried to cross the Arizona desert to reach the United States and meet her husband. The father is subjected to a daylong confrontation with a suspicious immigration guard. Performances begin Thursday. Repertorio Español, 138 East 27th Street, Manhattan, (212) 889-2850; repertorio.org.

PYGMALION Claire Danes will make her Broadway debut as Eliza Doolittle in a Roundabout Theater Company revival of George Bernard Shaw’s 1912 classic. Jefferson Mays (“Journey’s End,” “I Am My Own Wife”) will play the phonetics professor Henry Higgins, who makes a bet that he can turn the cockney flower girl into a society lady, and then falls for his student. With Boyd Gaines as Colonel Pickering and Jay O. Sanders as Alfred Doolittle. David Grindley directs. Previews begin Sept. 21. Opens Oct. 18. Closes Dec. 9. American Airlines Theater, 227 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212) 719-1300; roundabouttheatre.org.

THE HOME PLACE Brian Friel’s 2005 play is about a 19th-century Anglo-Irish landowner and his son, living in the mythical Irish town of Ballybeg, who are both in love with their housekeeper. When a cousin visits, he arouses the animosity of the villagers by seeking scientific proof that the Irish are genetically inferior to the English. Joe Dowling directs this American premiere. Previews begin Sept. 22. Opens Sept. 28. Closes Nov. 25. Guthrie Theater, 818 South Second Street, Minneapolis, (612) 377-2224; guthrietheater.org.

♦ THE CHILDREN OF VONDERLY An unconventional, multi-ethnic family of adopted and disabled children bands together in this new play by Lloyd Suh, presented by the Ma-Yi Theater Company and directed by Ralph B. Peña, the troupe’s artistic director. William Jackson Harper is the wheelchair-bound oldest brother, Jerry, whose dreams of a normal life outside his far-from-traditional Indianapolis home are threatened by his mother’s expectations. Lynn Cohen is the matriarch. Previews begin Sept. 22. Opens Oct. 4. Closes Oct. 21. East 13th Street Theater, 136 East 13th Street, East Village. Theatermania; ma-yitheatre.org.

HAIR: THE AMERICAN TRIBAL LOVE-ROCK MUSICAL The quintessential rock musical opened at the Public Theater 40 years ago, ran for six weeks, moved to Broadway and ran there for more than four years. The three Public Theater concert performances, with book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot, will be directed by Diane Paulus. Free admissionseems appropriate for an anti-establishment show. Sept. 22-24. Delacorte Theater, Central Park, (212) 539-8750, publictheater.org.

♦ JUMP Don’t expect another “Stomp,” “Be” or any other show with a monosyllabic title. This production by the Yegam Theater Company of Korea is an over-the-top sitcom. Set in a traditional Korean home, the atypical family is made up of martial artists — from grandpa to the young daughter — who love to pick fights with one another. When burglars break in, a hyperactive extravaganza of martial arts, acrobatics and slapstick ensues. Troupe members are quite serious, though; they trained for three and a half years for this. Previews begin Sept. 25. Opens Oct. 7. Union Square Theater, 100 East 17th Street, Flatiron district. Ticketmaster; jumpnewyorkcity.com.

♦ GREETINGS FROM YORKVILLE Before his death in June, Thommie Walsh, the Tony Award-winning choreographer and performer who created the role of Bobby in “A Chorus Line,” was at work on this production, after collaborating with the writers and performers Anya Turner and Robert Grusecki for several years and having directed two earlier versions. Mr. Walsh will be the credited director of the two-character musical, about a couple of songwriters from the Midwest arriving in New York to try to make it in show business. The music is by Mr. Grusecki, the book by Ms. Turner and the lyrics a joint effort of the two. Previews begin Sept. 25. Opens Oct. 4. SoHo Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street, South Village (212) 691-1555; sohoplayhouse.com.

THE SENSUOUS WOMAN Margaret Cho (“I’m the One That I Want”) celebrates the female body in her new show, which includes a supporting cast of burlesque performers and sketch comedians with names like Princess Farhana and Miss Dirty Martini. Previews begin Sept. 26. Opens Oct. 6. Zipper Factory, 336 West 37th Street, Manhattan. Theatermania; thezipperfactory.com.

♦ THE BEEBO BRINKER CHRONICLES Kate Moira Ryan (“25 Questions for a Jewish Mother”) and Linda S. Chapman (“Gertrude and Alice: A Likeness to Loving”) have adapted some unusual material for this new play: Ann Bannon’s lesbian pulp novels of the 1950s and 1960s. Leigh Silverman (“Well”) directs a cast that includes David Greenspan (“Some Men”) in this steamy tale of furtive sexual encounters and butch barflies in pre-Stonewall Greenwich Village. The show is a presentation of the Hourglass Group. Previews begin Sept. 27. Opens Oct. 1. Closes Oct. 20. Fourth Street Theater, 83 East Fourth Street, East Village. Theatermania; beebobrinker.com.

♦ THE OVERWHELMING An American family arrives in Rwanda in 1994 to help an old friend, as the country verges on the genocide that would claim hundreds of thousands of lives. Max Stafford-Clark directs the American premiere of J. T. Rogers’s play. Previews begin Sept. 28. Opens Oct. 23. Closes Dec. 23. Roundabout Theater Company, Laura Pels Theater, 111 West 46th Street, Manhattan, (212) 719-1300; roundabouttheatre.org.

♦ THE COFFEE TREES AND THE CHERRY ORCHARD The Resonance Ensemble presents two plays, in repertory, about families trying to find their place in new societies. One is a new play by Arthur Giron and the other, the Chekhov play that provided the inspiration. Marion Castleberry directs the new play, and Eric Parness adapts and directs the classic. “Trees” begins previews Sept. 28 and opens Oct. 3; “Orchard” begins previews Sept. 30 and opens Oct. 4. Closes Oct. 21. Beckett Theater, Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Ticket Central; resonanceensemble.org.

OCTOBER

♦ WHEN THE MESSENGER IS HOT The Steppenwolf Theater Company visits Manhattan from its home in Chicago with a new work adapted by Laura Eason from a book of short stories by Elizabeth Crane. In this comic tale about love and letting go, one woman’s mother, who died three years before, calls from a North Dakota bus station. Oct. 3-28. 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, Manhattan. Ticket Central; 59e59.org.

A BRONX TALE Chazz Palminteri will make his Broadway debut alone on stage in a play based on his life story, portraying 18 characters from the sometimes mean streets of the Bronx. Mr. Palminteri first performed the play Off Broadway in 1989. He later turned the script into a screenplay for the 1993 film version, in which he appeared with Robert De Niro, who directed. In this production Jerry Zaks directs. Previews begin Oct. 4. Opens Oct. 25. Closes Feb. 10. Walter Kerr Theater, 219 West 48th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge; abronxtaleonbroadway.com.

♦ IPHIGENIA AT AULIS The Gardzienice Theater of Poland will present its adaptation — a collaboration with Teatr Stary of Krakow — of the Euripides play from 410 B.C., about Agamemnon’s decision to sacrifice his daughter’s life to help the Greeks reach Troy and wage war. In English, Polish and ancient Greek. Directed by Wlodzimierz Staniewski. Previews begin Oct. 4. Opens Oct. 7. Closes Oct. 21. La MaMa Annex, 74A East Fourth Street, East Village, (212) 475-7710; lamama.org.

A FEMININE ENDING Blair Brown directs the world premiere of this romantic comedy by Sarah Treem at Playwrights Horizons. When a young musician graduates from the conservatory, her life is full of possibilities; and a rocker boyfriend on the edge of fame is nice too. But a call from Mother (Marsha Mason), who is having a marital crisis, might cause dreams to be deferred. Previews begin Oct. 4. Opens Oct. 17. Closes Nov. 11. Peter Jay Sharp Theater, 416 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Ticket Central; playwrightshorizons.org.

A VIEW FROM 151ST STREET The Labyrinth Theater Company has produced dozens of new works that reflect the communities of New York. The playwright Bob Glaudini, whose comedy “Jack Goes Boating” had a successful run this year, works again here with the director Peter Dubois on an urban tale of cops, rappers, dealers and other city dwellers. Previews begin Oct. 5. Opens Oct. 18. Closes Nov. 4. Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 967-7555; labtheater.org.

THE WOLVES IN THE WALLS The National Theater of Scotland and the Improbable Theater Company in London (“Shockheaded Peter”) teamed up on this version of Neil Gaiman’s 2003 best seller, which arrives in New York after a run in Scotland. Lucy hears scratching noises at night and thinks there are wolves living in the walls. Her family doubts her, until the wolves show up. For ages 7 and up. Oct. 5-21. New Victory Theater, 209 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (646) 223-3010; newvictory.org.

DIE, MOMMIE, DIE! Hollywood glamour meets Greek tragedy when Charles Busch is the pop diva Angela Arden. Angela kills her husband with the help of her young lover in this spoof of 1960s films with aging stars like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Of course the kids must avenge their father’s death by offing Mom. Mr. Busch wrote the play, which had its premiere in 1999 and was made into a film in 2003. He starred both times. Carl Andress directs. Previews begin Oct. 10. Opens Oct. 21. Closes Feb. 17. New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge; dmdtheplay.com.

HOTEL CASSIOPEIA In addition to being the playwright in residence at the Signature Theater Company this season, Charles Mee has a show in the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival. Created by Mr. Mee, with the director Anne Bogart and members of her SITI Company, the piece, inspired by the collagist Joseph Cornell, explores his consciousness and his questioning of the importance of his own work. Oct. 9-13. Brooklyn Academy of Music, Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton Street, Fort Greene, (718) 636-4100; bam.org.

WOOSTER GROUP HAMLET This multimedia piece by the renowned experimental theater company examines the filmed version of the 1964 Richard Burton Broadway production, which was done in the style of a rehearsal. Scott Shepherd plays Hamlet, and Kate Valk portrays Gertrude and Ophelia. The group’s artistic director, Elizabeth LeCompte, directs. It was seen this year while in development at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. Oct. 9-Nov. 18. Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 967-7555; publictheater.org.

ELECTRA The formidable German theater director Peter Stein, who staged last year’s acclaimed London production of David Harrower’s “Blackbird,” will direct a six-performance run of Sophocles’ tragedy by the National Theater of Greece. Oct. 10-14. City Center, 131 West 55th Street, Manhattan, (212) 581-1212; nycitycenter.org.

FRANKENSTEIN Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel has inspired two monster musicals this season. And here is the David to the Goliath in the next item. This more serious, Off Broadway show aims to stick close to the source. In the title role, Hunter Foster (“Little Shop of Horrors”) is the scientist who challenges the laws of nature by creating life. Adaptation by Gary P. Cohen, music by Mark Baron and book and lyrics by Jeffrey Jackson. Previews begin Oct. 10. Opens Nov. 1. 37 Arts, 450 West 37th Street, Manhattan. Ticketmaster; FrankensteinTheMusical.com.

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN On the flip(pant) side is Mel Brooks’s adaptation of his zany 1974 movie. “The Producers” closed in April after six years on Broadway, but Mr. Brooks obviously can’t stay away for long, and now, after the new show’s tryout in Seattle, he’s back. When a New York brain surgeon, Dr. Frankenstein (Roger Bart), inherits a castle in Transylvania from his wacko grandfather, should he carry on with the deranged experiments? Well, yeah. The book is by Mr. Brooks and Thomas Meehan (“The Producers”), with music and lyrics by Mr. Brooks. Susan Stroman, the director and choreographer of “The Producers,” does an encore here. With Shuler Hensley as the monster, Megan Mullally as Elizabeth, Andrea Martin as Frau Blucher and — while her brother plays the scientist in the Off Broadway “Frankenstein” (see above) — Sutton Foster (“The Drowsy Chaperone”) as the sexy lab assistant Inga. Previews begin Oct. 11. Opens Nov. 8. Hilton Theater, 213 West 42nd Street, Manhattan. Ticketmaster; youngfrankensteinthemusical.com.

PHILOKTETES SoHo Rep’s first production this season is the experimental playwright John Jesurun’s contemporary adaptation of the Trojan War play by Sophocles, which Mr. Jesurun designed and will direct. Oct. 11-28. 46 Walker Street, TriBeCa, (212) 941-8632; sohorep.org.

THE GLORIOUS ONES Lynn Ahrens (book and lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (music) — whose shows together include “Once on This Island,” “Ragtime” and “Seussical” — team up again for a new musical, with Graciela Daniele (“Once on This Island”) as director and choreographer. The story, based on the 1974 novel of the same name by Francine Prose, is about an itinerant troupe of commedia dell’arte actors in 17th-century Italy and involves all the backstage-story staples: love, lust, ambition and defeat. Marc Kudisch, David Patrick Kelly and Julyana Soelistyo are among the cast in this Lincoln Center Theater production. Previews begin Oct. 11. Opens Nov. 5. Closes Jan. 6. Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Lincoln Center, 150 West 65th Street. Telecharge; lct.org.

THE RECEPTIONIST Jayne Houdyshell (“Well”) is Beverly, a receptionist who takes pride in running a tight ship in her busy office. When an unexpected visitor, a handsome one, arrives, Beverly, her co-worker and her boss are all a bit thrown. Joe Mantello directs this world premiere by Adam Bock (“The Thugs”). Previews begin Oct. 12. Opens Oct. 30. Manhattan Theater Club at City Center, Stage I, 131 West 55th Street, Manhattan, (212) 581-1212; mtc-nyc.org.

THE FARNSWORTH INVENTION Aaron Sorkin, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning writer (“The West Wing”), returns to Broadway for the first time since “A Few Good Men” in 1989 with a new play based on real events leading up to the advent of television. Hank Azaria (“Spamalot”) portrays David Sarnoff, the head of the Radio Corporation of America, and Jimmi Simpson is Philo T. Farnsworth, whose work in 1927, when he was 21, led to today’s electronic television. A legal battle followed for more than a decade as the two men vied for a place in history. Des McAnuff (“Jersey Boys”) directed the workshop at the La Jolla Playhouse in California and does so here. Previews begin Oct. 15. Opens Nov. 14. Music Box Theater, 239 West 45th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge; farnsworthonbroadway.com.

CYRANO DE BERGERAC Kevin Kline is the lovelorn poet and swordsman with the big schnoz from Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play, in a version translated and adapted by Anthony Burgess. Jennifer Garner is Roxane, and the dumb but dashing Christian is played by Daniel Sunjata. David Leveaux (“Fiddler on the Roof”) directs. Previews begin Oct. 12. Opens Nov. 1. Closes Dec. 23. Richard Rodgers Theater, 226 West 46th Street, Manhattan. Ticketmaster.

♦THE SUNSHINE BOYS The George Street Playhouse in New Jersey was fortunate last year to get Jack Klugman (you know, “The Odd Couple”!) to perform in “The Value of Names” by Jeffrey Sweet. Mr. Klugman must have enjoyed himself because he will return for the season opener this year. His co-star is Paul Dooley in Neil Simon’s 1972 play about a comedy duo — a staple on the vaudeville circuit — that works well onstage together and can’t stand each other in real life. Directed by David Saint, George Street’s artistic director. Previews begin Oct. 16. Opens Oct. 19. Closes Nov. 11. George Street Playhouse, 9 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, N.J., (732) 246-7717; georgestplayhouse.org.

THE PIANO TEACHER The Vineyard Theater opens its new season with Julia Cho’s memory play about a lonely, retired piano teacher who reaches out to some of her former students, wondering why, years before, they suddenly stopped taking lessons. Previews begin Oct. 17. Opens Nov. 1. Vineyard Theater, 108 East 15th Street, Flatiron district, (212) 353-0303; vineyardtheatre.org.

ROCK ’N’ ROLL It was a hit in London last year, and now Tom Stoppard’s look at the connections between rock music and revolution comes to Broadway on the heels of his acclaimed trilogy, “The Coast of Utopia.” Trevor Nunn directs a cast that includes, from the London production, Brian Cox, Sinead Cusack and Rufus Sewell in a drama that spans the years from 1968 to 1990, during the Russian occupation of Czechoslovakia. In Prague a subversive rock band resists Communism, and in Cambridge, England, three generations in the family of a Marxist philosopher must deal with love and death. Previews begin Oct. 19. Opens Nov. 4. Bernard B. Jacobs Theater, 242 West 45th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge; rocknrolltheplay.com.

EDWARD ALBEE’S PETER AND JERRY Mr. Albee, who will turn 80 in March, will get some presents this season: four major productions of his work in the New York area, with this one the first. (For the others, see “Me, Myself and I,” “The American Dream” and “The Sandbox” and “Edward Albee’s Occupant,” below.) Before “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Mr. Albee gave us “The Zoo Story,” a two-hander completed in 1958 that had its American premiere at the Provincetown Playhouse in 1960. Years later Mr. Albee said he had always felt that Peter — the boring middle-class guy confronted in Central Park by an angry Jerry and forced out of the tidy box of his life into a real world of danger — needed more exploration. So he wrote “Homelife” and paired both one-acts under the collective title “Peter and Jerry” in 2004. Pam MacKinnon, who directed the world premiere at Hartford Stage, will direct this production, featuring Bill Pullman, Johanna Day and Dallas Roberts. Previews begin Oct. 19. Opens Nov. 11. Closes Dec. 9. Second Stage Theater, 307 West 43rd Street, Clinton, (212) 246-4422; 2st.com.

♦ SHIRLEY AT THE TROPICANA This solo comedy, written and performed by Amanda Ronconi, features film with live performance. In it a secretary has a big crush on the boss and major plans for their future. A hot new temp comes along and messes it all up. Can Shirley ultimately triumph? Previews begin Oct. 19. Opens Oct. 27. Closes Nov. 18. Access Theater, 380 Broadway. Smarttix; shirleyatthetropicana.com.

♦ THE WOMEN OF BREWSTER PLACE A co-production of Alliance Theater of Atlanta and Arena Stage of Washington, this new musical is based on the best-selling novel by Gloria Naylor. Tim Acito (“Zanna, Don’t!”) wrote the book, music and lyrics for this story about seven African-American women who try to find communal strength while living in an urban housing project in the 1970s. Currently running at the Alliance (alliancetheatre.org) through Sept. 30, the show will head north to the Arena Stage in Washington next month. Arena’s artistic director, Molly Smith, directs. Oct. 19-Dec. 9. Arena Stage, Kreeger Theater, 1101 Sixth Street SW, Washington, (202) 488-3300; arenastage.org.

♦ BLACK WATCH The National Theater of Scotland is behind this play by Gregory Burke, about an actual Scottish infantry regiment that was dissolved after a final tour of duty in Iraq in 2006. The script is based on the testimonies of men who fought there, backing up American troops. The show was a hit last year at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. Oct. 20-Nov. 11. St. Ann’s Warehouse, 38 Water Street, at Dock Street, Brooklyn, (718) 254-8779; stannswarehouse.org.

♦ CRY HAVOC The Abingdon Theater Company is in its 15th-anniversary season of developing and producing new plays by American playwrights. Tom Coash wrote this play, set in present-day Cairo, while teaching playwriting at American University there. A British expatriate writer and his young, male Egyptian lover face the dangers of a repressive government. Oct. 20-Nov. 11. Abingdon Theater Company, Dorothy Strelsin Theater, 312 West 36th Street, Manhattan. Smarttix; abingdontheatre.org.

♦ YANK! This new musical by the sibling writing team of David Zellnik (book and lyrics) and Joseph Zellnik (music) had a sold-out run at the 2005 New York Musical Theater Festival. A war reporter named Stu and an Army private named Mitch fall in love during World War II in this war story of a very different sort. The show’s score, full of swing, big band and boogie-woogie, is a love song to the 1940s. Oct. 20-Nov. 4. Gallery Players, 199 14th Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn. Theatermania; galleryplayers.com.

THINGS WE WANT Ethan Hawke will direct the New Group’s season opener, a new play by Jonathan Marc Sherman (“Sophistry”) about three adult brothers living together in their childhood apartment and trying to cope with the deaths of their parents. The cast includes Josh Hamilton, Peter Dinklage and Paul Dano. Previews begin Oct. 22. Opens Nov. 7. Closes Dec. 15. Acorn Theater, Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Ticket Central; thenewgroup.org.

♦ 1001 The nonprofit group Page 73 Productions produced “Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue,” by the not-yet-30-year-old playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes (“In the Heights”) last year, and it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in drama. So Page 73 seems to know how to pick projects. “The Book of One Thousand and One Nights” meets Monty Python in Jason Grote’s play, which weaves together historical pastiche and pop culture in a tale populated by literary figures who shaped Western stereotypes of Middle Eastern culture. Ethan McSweeny (“100 Saints You Should Know”) directs. Oct. 22-Nov. 17. Nagelberg Theater at Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Avenue, (646) 312-4085; p73.org.

BINGO WITH THE INDIANS This is the second Adam Rapp comedy this season that the author will direct (see “American Sligo,” above). It’s about members of a poverty-stricken avant-garde theater company in the East Village who visit a New England town with a scheme in mind: to steal the profits of a local bingo game to pay for their next show. With the Bats, the Flea’s resident acting company. Previews begin Oct. 25. Opens Nov. 9. Closes Dec. 22. Flea Theater, 41 White Street, Lower Manhattan. Theatermania; www.theflea.org.

OHIO STATE MURDERS Partly based on her own experience, the playwright Adrienne Kennedy (“Funnyhouse of a Negro”) writes about Suzanne Alexander (Lisa Gay Hamilton), a fictional African-American author who enters Ohio State University in the 1950s and finds racism in what seemed like an academic safe haven. Evan Yionoulis (“The Violet Hour”) directs this Theater for a New Audience production. Previews begin Oct. 27. Opens Nov. 4. Closes Nov. 18. The Duke on 42nd Street, 229 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (646) 223-3010; tfana.org.

♦ THE JOY LUCK CLUB Susan Kim’s play, based on the novel by Amy Tan, follows four mah-jongg-playing mothers from different provinces in China as they struggle with the complicated relationships they have with their American-born daughters. Tisa Chang, Pan Asian Rep’s artistic director, will direct this first production of the company’s 31st season. Previews begin Oct. 28. Opens Nov. 7. Closes Nov. 25. Julia Miles Theater, 424 West 55th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge; panasianrep.org.

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♦ THE RUNNER STUMBLES The Actors Company Theater is entering its 15th season of producing rarely done and neglected works, beginning with this play by Milan Stitt that opened on Broadway in 1976. It is based on a true story, about a Roman Catholic priest who is tried for the murder of a nun. A movie version in 1979 starred Dick Van Dyke as the priest. Scott Alan Evans directs. Oct. 28-Nov. 24. Beckett Theater, Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Ticket Central; tactnyc.org.

THE SEAFARER The Irish playwright Conor McPherson’s dramas, including “The Weir” and “Shining City,” both seen in New York, have established him as one of the finest writers of his generation. His latest — a dark and booze-soaked study of redemption — comes to Broadway from the National Theater, where it opened last year. Mr. McPherson will direct, as he did in London. David Morse (“How I Learned to Drive”) plays an alcoholic who vows to stay sober at Christmas and look after his aging brother (Jim Norton, who won an Olivier Award for the role in London). When a stranger shows up at a Christmas Eve card game, the stakes get very high indeed. With Ciaran Hinds, Conleth Hill and Ritchie Coster. Previews begin Oct. 30. Opens Nov. 15. Booth Theater, 222 West 45th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge.

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY This drama by the playwright Tracy Letts (“Killer Joe,” “Bug”) just ended a well-received run in Chicago at the Steppenwolf Theater Company, where Mr. Letts is an ensemble member. In the play three generations of an Oklahoma family converge at the old homestead after the patriarch mysteriously vanishes. Anna D. Shapiro, another Steppenwolf member, directed in Chicago and will bring 12 of the 13 cast members to Broadway for a 16-week engagement. Previews begin Oct. 30. Opens Nov. 30. Imperial Theater, 245 West 45th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge.

RICHARD III Michael Cumpsty and the director Brian Kulick team up again on another Shakespearean king. Mr. Cumpsty made a good Richard II last year and now takes a crack at this far angrier (and far more murderous) monarch. Oct. 31-Dec. 9. Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street, East Village. Theatermania; classicstage.org.

NOVEMBER

LONE STAR LOVE Inspired by “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” this musical comedy, running through Sept. 30 at the 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle, stars Randy Quaid, who will make his Broadway debut when the show arrives in New York, as Col. John Falstaff. In the musical Shakespeare’s comedy has been transplanted to post-Civil War Texas, where the Confederate colonel works his charms on the wives of two rich cattle ranchers. Directed and choreographed by Randy Skinner, the show was conceived by John L. Haber, with a book by Robert Horn and Mr. Haber. The Red Clay Ramblers provide their particular blend of folk and bluegrass (the Rambler Jack Herrick wrote the score). Previews begin Nov. 1. Opens Dec. 3. Belasco Theater, 111 West 44th Street, Manhattan; Telecharge; lonestarlovethemusical.com.

♦ HAMLET The unhappy prince’s soliloquies are musical numbers in this production by the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theater, which has four actors share the stage with dozens of marionettes. Co-directed by Vit Horejs and Pavel Dobrusky, Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy is staged on a carousel. Previews begin Nov. 1. Opens Nov. 8. Closes Nov. 25. Jane’s Carousel, 56 Water Street, Dumbo, Brooklyn. SmartTix; czechmarionettes.org.

WINTUK A cast of 50 presents Cirque du Soleil’s newest creation, the story of a boy on a quest for snow and adventure. He interacts with various urban street characters who naturally include — because it’s Cirque country — acrobats, dancers and talking marionettes. Nov. 1-Jan. 6. WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Ticketmaster; thegarden.com.

DR. SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL The director Jack O’Brien’s version of the holiday show returns to Broadway for a second year. Previews begin Nov. 1. Opens Nov. 9. Closes Jan. 6. St. James Theater, 246 West 44th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge.

THE USUAL FREAK SHOW Some theatergoers will remember “Artificial Reality,” with the comedian and actor Jeffrey Essmann, presented by New York Theater Workshop more than a decade ago. Several years before that there was another Essmann revue at La MaMa. His piano accompanist for both was the prolific composer and lyricist Michael John LaChiusa, who had yet to create the musicals “Marie Christine” and “The Wild Party,” among others. Now it’s reunion time. Expect new material and some flashbacks. Nov. 2-18. La MaMa E.T.C., 74A East Fourth Street, East Village, (212) 475-7710; lamama.org.

THE LITTLE MERMAID After a pre-Broadway run at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, this new stage version of the 1989 animated film, directed by Francesca Zambello, is set to wash over the stage of the Lunt-Fontanne on Broadway. In a kingdom beneath the sea, the young mermaid Ariel (Sierra Boggess) longs for the land and for love. In addition to his and Howard Ashman’s songs from the film, including “Under the Sea,” Alan Menken has composed 11 new ones, with lyrics by Glenn Slater. The book is by Doug Wright (“I Am My Own Wife”). Sherie Rene Scott is the evil sea witch Ursula, Sean Palmer plays the dreamy Prince Eric and Norm Lewis is King Triton. Previews begin Nov. 3. Opens Dec. 6. Lunt-Fontanne Theater, 205 West 46th Street, Manhattan. Ticketmaster; disneyonbroadway.com.

QUEENS BOULEVARD (THE MUSICAL) This world premiere is part of the Signature Theater Company’s Charles Mee season. A new husband, determined to find the perfect wedding gift for his bride, encounters adventures in his Queens neighborhood in a musical comedy inspired by kathakali, a form of classical Indian dance. Directed by Davis McCallum. Previews begin Nov. 6. Opens Dec. 2. Closes Dec. 30. Signature Theater Company, 555 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 244-7529; signaturetheatre.org.

CRY-BABY After the success of “Hairspray,” can there be any doubt that another John Waters film will reach the stage? A spring run on Broadway, with first previews planned for March, is in the works, but first “Cry-Baby” will have its world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in California. The source material is the 1990 Johnny Depp film set in 1954 Baltimore, when everyone likes Ike and hates the Commies. The bad boy Wade (Cry-Baby) Walker falls for a good girl, and she for him, but friends and families do not approve. As with “Hairspray,” Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan teamed up on the book. The Broadway newcomers David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger wrote the music and lyrics. Mark Brokaw directs. Previews begin Nov. 6. Opens Nov. 13. Closes Dec. 16. Mandell Weiss Theater at the La Jolla Playhouse, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla, Calif., (858) 550-1010; lajollaplayhouse.org.

IS HE DEAD? Mark Twain’s 1898 farce about a group of artists who stage the death of their mentor to drive up the price of his paintings remained unpublished until a few years ago. Twain had drawn on the true story of a posthumous bidding war between the United States and France over “The Angelus,” an 1857 painting by Jean-François Millet. Michael Blakemore directs this adaptation by David Ives. Norbert Leo Butz is the not-dead-yet artist in a cast that includes Marylouise Burke, Patricia Conolly, Michael McGrath and John McMartin. Previews begin Nov. 8. Opens Nov. 29. Lyceum Theater, 149 West 45th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge.

RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR The annual holiday party will celebrate its 75th anniversary with new and revised production numbers and an array of costumes for the Rockettes. The word is that Santa’s 3D flights over Manhattan are on schedule. Nov. 9-Dec. 30. Radio City Music Hall, 1260 Avenue of the Americas, at 50th Street. Ticketmaster; radiocity.com.

♦ TRUMPERY Peter Parnell’s new play, directed by David Esbjornson, looks at Charles Darwin’s struggle to finish “Origin of Species” while coping with family illness and wavering faith. Oh, and then there is this other guy halfway around the world, about to hatch the same theory at the same time. Previews begin Nov. 14. Opens Dec. 10. Atlantic Theater Company, Main Stage, 336 West 20th Street, Chelsea. Ticket Central; atlantictheater.org.

♦ DORIS TO DARLENE: A CAUTIONARY VALENTINE Richard Wagner’s “Liebestod,” from “Tristan und Isolde,” is the unlikely inspiration for this pop fairy tale and world premiere by Jordan Harrison. Doris, a biracial girl, becomes a 1960s pop star named Darlene with a hit song drawn from the Wagner piece. The play moves back to the 1860s, when Wagner is writing the melody, and then jumps to the present and a teenager obsessed with Darlene’s music. Les Waters (“Eurydice”) directs. Previews begin Nov. 16. Opens Dec. 11. Closes Dec. 23. Playwrights Horizons Mainstage Theater, 416 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Ticket Central; playwrightshorizons.org.

THE HOMECOMING Harold Pinter’s creepy tale of lust and betrayal, about a long-departed son who returns with his wife to his dysfunctional North London family, won the Tony Award for best play in 1967. In this 40th-anniversary production, Ian McShane is the tyrannical father, Raúl Esparza his pimp son, Michael McKean the father’s bullied brother and Eve Best (“A Moon for the Misbegotten”) the mysterious and bewitching wife. Daniel Sullivan directs. Previews begin Nov. 23. Opens Dec. 9. Closes April 13. Cort Theater, 138 West 48th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge.

♦ YELLOW FACE In a co-production with the Center Theater Group in Los Angeles, the Public Theater is presenting David Henry Hwang’s personal story based on the 1990 protests over the casting of Jonathan Pryce as a Eurasian in the Broadway production of “Miss Saigon.” Through a character based on himself, Mr. Hwang explores issues of race and identity. Leigh Silverman, who directed the play at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, directs. Nov. 20-Dec. 23. Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 967-7555; publictheater.org.

♦ THE DEVIL’S DISCIPLE Tony Walton has been designing sets and costumes on Broadway for more than 40 years. Here he is both director and designer for a production of George Bernard Shaw’s 1897 comic melodrama, his only play that takes place in America. Shaw focuses his wit and wisdom on American Puritanism — not entirely a thing of the past. Nov. 27-Jan. 20. Irish Repertory Theater, 132 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, (212) 727-2737; irishrep.org.

BLACK NATIVITY A new production by the Classical Theater of Harlem of Langston Hughes’s 1961 gospel interpretation of the classic Nativity story. Set on the 42nd Street of 1973, a street preacher narrates the tale of a girl in search of peace on earth. Nov. 30-Dec. 30. The Duke on 42nd Street, 229 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (646) 223-3010; dukeon42.org.

DECEMBER

BECKETT SHORTS In 1984 Samuel Beckett objected to the director JoAnne Akalaitis’s version of his play “Endgame” at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass., partly because of new music by the composer Philip Glass. The same director and composer assay Beckett again. Will his estate approve? (The playwright died in 1989.) This time Ms. Akalaitis will be directing four one-acts — “Act Without Words” I and II, “Eh Joe” and “Rough for Theater” — with a cast that includes Mikhail Baryshnikov, Bill Camp, Karen Kandel and David Neumann. Dec. 5-Jan. 27. New York Theater Workshop, 79 East Fourth Street, East Village. Telecharge; nytw.org.

♦ GOOD BOYS AND TRUE Amy Morton directs Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s play about a smart and charming prep school boy ready to head off to the Ivy League who ends up at the center of a scandal that could destroy his future. Dec. 6-Feb. 10. Steppenwolf Downstairs Theater, 1650 North Halsted Street, Chicago, (312) 335-1650; steppenwolf.org.

♦ THE BLUE BIRD Adapted from the 1908 play by Maurice Maeterlinck, Stanton Wood’s multimedia musical is about a materialistic Staten Island girl on a fantastical journey in search of the fabled bluebird of happiness. Colm Clark, who collaborated with Mr. Wood on “The Magical Forest of Baba Yaga” last year, will write the music. Danny Goldstein directs. Dec. 11-Jan. 13. Urban Stages, 259 West 30th Street, Manhattan. Smarttix; urbanstages.org.

♦ 500 CLOWN FRANKENSTEIN/500 CLOWN CHRISTMASThe Chicago clown troupe 500 Clown employs circus acts, improvisations and physical feats for what it calls “action-based performance.” In the first show (Dec. 12-19) three clowns try to tell Mary Shelley’s classic horror story. For the Christmas show (Dec. 21-31) the troupe is joined by a three-piece band for a clownish holiday celebration. Dec. 12-31. Performance Space 122, 150 First Avenue, at Ninth Street, East Village. Theatermania; ps122.org.

NOVEMBER The last time Joe Mantello directed a David Mamet play on Broadway — “Glengarry Glen Ross” in 2005 — it won the Tony Award for best play revival. Now he has signed on for Mr. Mamet’s latest, along with some other big names. Nathan Lane plays the incumbent president, Charles Smith, in this political comedy that takes place just before a presidential election. The issues might sound familiar: gays and lesbians, presidential libraries, questionable pardons and campaign contributions. Laurie Metcalf portrays one of the president’s aides. Previews begin Dec. 20. Opens Jan. 17. Barrymore Theater, 243 West 47th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge.

♦ THE HONOR AND GLORY OF WHALING Well, here’s something different. The writer and director Michael Gorman (“The Forty Hour Club”) used a sentence in Chapter 82 of Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick” as his inspiration: “There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness is the true method.” Whaling is apparently such an enterprise. The fishing captain Robby Foerster becomes addicted to heroin. Dec. 27-Jan. 6. La MaMa Annex, 74A East Fourth Street, East Village, (212) 475-7710; lamama.org.

JANUARY

COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA Michael Pressman, who has directed S. Epatha Merkerson in “Law & Order,” recently directed her on the stage in William Inge’s 1950 drama about a middle-aged couple whose life is knocked off kilter when they rent a room to a beautiful college student. Ms. Merkerson played the wife this summer in that Center Theater Group version in Los Angeles. Now she and Mr. Pressman come to Broadway — same roles, new production by the Manhattan Theater Club. Previews begin Jan. 3. Opens Jan. 24. Biltmore Theater, 261 West 47th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge; manhattantheatreclub.com.

♦ THE MANDRAKE The Pearl Theater Company is planning several shows next year by playwrights known for their radical ideas. This one, by Niccolò Machiavelli, first performed in 1518, is a critique of 16th-century Italian society. In a new translation by Peter Constantine, Callimaco will do anything to bed the beautiful (but married) Lucrezia, who scoffs at romance. Productions of Ibsen’s “Ghosts” and Wilde’s “Importance of Being Earnest” will follow in the spring. Jan. 6-Feb. 10. Pearl Theater Company, 80 St. Marks Place, East Village, (212) 598-9802; pearltheatre.org.

♦ TWO THOUSAND YEARS The New Group’s artistic director, Scott Elliott, teams up again with the playwright Mike Leigh (“Abigail’s Party”) in a story about an assimilated Jewish family in suburban London whose quiet life is upset when their son becomes seriously devout. Jan. 8-March 1. Acorn Theater, Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Theatermania; thenewgroup.org.

♦ ALMOST AN EVENING Ethan Coen, the screenwriter and producer who is half of the successful Coen brothers, who brought “Fargo,” “The Big Lebowski” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” to the screen, will make his debut as an Off Broadway playwright with an evening’s program of three short comedies produced by the Atlantic Theater Company. “Waiting,” “Four Benches” and “Debate” take up big, important questions, and happily fail to answer them. Neil Pepe directs. Previews begin Jan. 9. Opens Jan. 16. Closes Feb. 3. Atlantic Theater Company Stage 2, 330 West 16th Street, Chelsea. Ticket Central; atlantictheater.org.

♦ LET ME DOWN EASY Anna Deavere Smith (“Fires in the Mirror”) brings her singular performance style to a new solo piece about the fragile but resilient human body. Based on interviews she conducted while working as a visiting professor at the Yale University School of Medicine and on travels to Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa and post-Katrina New Orleans, Ms. Smith channels a variety of her subjects. Moisés Kaufman directs. Jan. 9-Feb. 3. Long Wharf Theater, 222 Sargent Drive, New Haven, (203) 787-4282, (800) 782-8497; longwharf.org.

ME, MYSELF AND I With three Pulitzer Prizes, a special Tony Award for lifetime achievement and other laurels, Edward Albee might be expected to slow down as he nears his 80th birthday. Not so. The second major production of Edward Albee’s work this season in the New York area is a world premiere commissioned by the McCarter Theater Center and Princeton University. It’s a comedy about sibling rivalry between a pair of twins, both named Otto. Emily Mann, the artistic director of the McCarter, directs. Jan. 11-Feb. 17. McCarter Theater Center, 91 University Place, Princeton, N.J., (609) 258-2787; mccarter.org.

♦ PEER GYNT The Guthrie presents a new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s 1867 verse play, by the poet Robert Bly based on his own translation. Mark Rylance, the actor and former artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater in London, is set to star as the arrogant antihero at the center of Ibsen’s satirical fantasy. Previews begin Jan. 12. Opens Jan 18. Closes March 2. Guthrie Theater, 818 South Second Street, Minneapolis, (612) 377-2224; guthrietheater.org.

♦ BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSONHard to resist this title, and even harder to resist a show described on the Center Theater Group’s Web site as a “fast-paced irreverent Wild West rock musical on the founding of the modern Democratic Party.” Who knew President Jackson played such a mean guitar? Alex Timbers, the artistic director of Les Freres Corbusier (“Hell House”), is the writer and director, and the music and lyrics are by Michael Friedman, who is also at work on “Saved,” going up at Playwrights Horizons in the spring (see below). Previews begin Jan. 13. Opens Jan. 20. Closes Feb. 17. Kirk Douglas Theater, 9820 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, Calif., (213) 628-2772; CenterTheatreGroup.org.

♦ HAWTHORNUCOPIA While much of the theater world is devoted to finding the next new play with which to make a killing, the plucky Metropolitan Playhouse in the East Village is continuously in search of the next great old play that has hardly or never been seen. The company presents rarely produced American plays and new works based on American literature. Their third annual festival devoted to one author will consist of plays about, influenced by or inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne. (Past years were devoted to Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain.) Jan. 14-27. Metropolitan Playhouse, 220 East Fourth Street, East Village, (212) 995-5302; metropolitanplayhouse.org.

DEEP TRANCE BEHAVIOR IN POTATOLAND: A RICHARD FOREMAN THEATER MACHINE In the director and playwright Richard Foreman’s latest work, he uses a combination of live action and film as he once again asks his audience to relate to reality in a new way. Previews begin Jan. 17. Opens Jan. 22. Closes April 13. Ontological Theater at St. Mark’s Church, 131 East 10th Street, East Village. Theatermania; ontological.com.

THE MADDENING TRUTH The Keen Company has had some big successes with works by early-20th-century American writers. But here’s a world premiere by David Hay about Ernest Hemingway’s third wife, Martha Gellhorn, and her attempt to write a brilliant novel. Carl Forsman, Keen’s artistic director, directs. Jan. 15-Feb. 23. Clurman Theater, Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Ticket Central; keencompany.org.

♦ NEXT TO NORMAL Tom Kitt composed the music for last season’s ill-fated “High Fidelity.” This one, a dark musical about a family dealing with a long-buried secret, may fare better. Book and lyrics are by Brian Yorkey. Michael Greif (“Grey Gardens”) directs. Jan. 16-March 9. Second Stage Theater, 307 West 43rd Street, Clinton, (212) 246-4422; 2st.com.

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE In London the Menier Chocolate Factory’s recent revival of this 1984 Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical, inspired by the Georges Seurat painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” won four Olivier Awards, including best actor and actress for its stars, Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell. Fortunately, both are making the trip to reprise their roles in New York, with Sam Buntrock once again directing this Pulitzer Prize-winning meditation on art and inspiration. Previews begin Jan. 25. Opens Feb. 21. Roundabout Theater Company at Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street, Manhattan, (212) 719-1300; roundabouttheatre.org.

♦ HUNTING AND GATHERING Leigh Silverman directs a world premiere by Brooke Berman, a drama about four interconnected New Yorkers in a modern world that seems to offer only temporary homes and unstable love. Ms. Berman, author of “The Triple Happiness,” asks if human beings have to be predators to survive. Previews begin Jan. 22. Opens Feb. 5. Closes March 1. Primary Stages, 59 East 59th Street, Manhattan. Ticket Central; primarystages.com.

GRACE Lynn Redgrave has the title role in this MCC Theater company drama by Mick Gordon and A. C. Grayling, about a scientist and firm atheist whose son is soon to become a Christian minister. Jan. 23-March 8. Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, West Village. Ticket Central; www.mcctheater.com.

♦ HORTON FOOTE FESTIVAL With a 92nd birthday ahead, not to mention his many theater and film prizes, the Texas-born Mr. Foote is being celebrated by the Goodman Theater in Chicago this season with a monthlong festival. Among the highlights are four productions of his plays, screenings of some of his films and a panel discussion with artists who have worked with him. Harris Yulin will direct and Lois Smith will star in the play “The Trip to Bountiful,” which opened Off Broadway at the Signature Theater in 2005. Ms. Smith won an Obie award for her portrayal of Carrie Watts, a woman longing for home. Jan. 26-March 2. Goodman Theater, 170 North Dearborn Street, Chicago, (312) 443-3800; goodmantheatre.org.

FEBRUARY

♦ OROONOKO The novelist and playwright Aphra Behn (1640-1689) is generally credited with being one of the first Englishwomen to support herself by writing. (She was also a spy for King Charles II, but that’s not important right now.) The Royal Shakespeare Company commissioned the Nigerian writer Biyi Bandele to adapted Behn’s novel “Oroonoko” for the stage in 1999, and this season’s production marks the American premiere. In Mr. Bandele’s adaptation, the tragic story of unfortunate lovers ruined by a powerful and jealous king is expressed not only with language but also with drumming and dance based on Yoruba culture. Kate Whoriskey directs. Previews begin Feb. 2. Opens Feb. 10. Closes March 9. The Duke on 42nd Street, 229 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (646) 223-3010; tfana.org.

THE STARRY MESSENGER Since his 2001 play, “Lobby Hero,” Kenneth Lonergan has been busy in Hollywood. He helped write the screenplay for “Gangs of New York” and wrote and directed “You Can Count on Me.” His forthcoming film, “Margaret,” postponed the arrival of this new play in New York. Matthew Broderick plays Mark, a married, aspiring astronomer who lectures at the Hayden Planetarium. He meets a young, pretty woman and questions the inertia of his life. Mr. Lonergan directs. Previews begin Feb. 7. Opens Feb. 26. Closes April 13. Manhattan Theater Club at City Center, Stage I, 131 West 55th Street, Manhattan, (212) 581-1212; mtc-nyc.org.

♦ DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE A new comedy by Sarah Ruhl (“The Clean House”), directed by Anne Bogart and featuring Kathleen Chalfant. A museum worker answers a ringing phone beside her in a cafe and finds it belongs to a dead man. Caught up in what was his bizarre life, she becomes a comforter and confessor to his friends and family. Previews begin Feb. 8. Opens March 4. Closes March 16. Playwrights Horizons Mainstage Theater, 416 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Ticket Central; playwrightshorizons.org.

IN THE HEIGHTS After a successful Off Broadway run at 37 Arts earlier this year, this marriage of Latin rhythms, hip-hop and musical theater is moving to Broadway. The book by Quiara Alegría Hudes, with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, concerns a community in the Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights. Thomas Kail directs again, and Mr. Miranda reprises his role as Usnavi, the bodega owner. Previews begin Feb. 14. Opens March 9. Richard Rodgers Theater, 226 West 46th Street, Manhattan. Ticketmaster; intheheightsthemusical.com.

♦ HUMANA FESTIVAL OF NEW AMERICAN PLAYS For more than 30 years new plays have first taken the stage at this annual showcase for both emerging and established writers. Who knows what’s in store this time? That’s part of the fascination. Feb. 24-March 30. Actors Theater of Louisville, 316 West Main Street, Louisville, Ky., (502) 584-1205; actorstheatre.org.

SOUTH PACIFIC Bartlett Sher will direct the first Broadway revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical since it opened in 1949. This Lincoln Center Theater show is based on James A. Michener’s “Tales of the South Pacific.” Feb. 28-June 15. Vivian Beaumont Theater, Lincoln Center, 150 West 65th Street. Telecharge; lct.org.

MARCH

THE AMERICAN DREAM AND THE SANDBOX This double bill of Edward Albee one-acts, originally produced at the Cherry Lane Theater in 1961 and 1962, respectively, returns for an encore run that will be taking place when Mr. Albee’s 80th birthday arrives on March 12. (See “Edward Albee’s Peter and Jerry” and “Me, Myself and I,” above, and “Edward Albee’s Occupant,” below, for more Albee works this season.) F. Murray Abraham has signed on for both plays, and, schedule permitting, Mr. Albee will direct. Previews begin March 4. Opens March 18. Closes April 12. Cherry Lane Theater, 38 Commerce Street, West Village. Telecharge; cherrylanetheatre.com.

♦ AUGUST WILSON’S 20TH CENTURY Before his death in 2005, August Wilson had completed his extraordinary cycle of plays on the African-American experience in America through the decades of the 20th century. The Kennedy Center is presenting a month of staged readings of all 10 works, under the artistic supervision of Kenny Leon, who directed two of the plays — “Gem of the Ocean” and “Radio Golf” — on Broadway. March 4-April 6. John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Terrace Theater, 2700 F Street NW, Washington, (800) 444-1324 or (202) 467-4600; kennedy-center.org.

♦ THE SEAGULL Dianne Wiest is the aging leading lady, Madame Arkadina, in Chekhov’s 1896 masterpiece, which he called “a comedy in four acts.” There’s comedy, all right, alongside the heartbreak of dreams dashed and loves unrequited. The director, Viatcheslav Dolgachev, is Russian, appropriately. March 5-April 13. Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street, East Village. Theatermania; classicstage.org.

♦ THE FOUR OF US A new play by Itamar Moses (“Bach at Leipzig”) asks what happens when your dreams come true — for your best friend. Benjamin’s first novel makes him a literary star, and his friend David, a struggling playwright, could use some help from Benjamin’s new connections. Pam MacKinnon (“Edward Albee’s Peter and Jerry”) directs. Previews begin March 6. Opens March 25. Closes May 11. Manhattan Theater Club at City Center, Stage II, 131 West 55th Street, Manhattan, (212) 581-1212; mtc-nyc.org.

♦ THE BAND WAGON This adaptation, with a book by Douglas Carter Beane (“Xanadu”), music by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz, is adapted from the 1953 screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It’s classic backstage comedy when the washed-up Hollywood star Tony Hunter decides that a stint on Broadway will make it all better. His friends team him up with a Shakespearean actor-manager who has a taste for high art. And that’s when the fun starts. Gary Griffin (“The Color Purple”) directs. The Old Globe likes to send its shows to Broadway, so this show just might be on the to-do list. Previews begin March 7. Opens March 13. Closes April 13. Old Globe Theater, 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego, (619) 234-5623; oldglobe.org.

♦ KANDER & EBB CELEBRATION The long-running partnership of the composer John Kander and the lyricist Fred Ebb — among their hit shows are “Cabaret” and “Chicago” — didn’t really end when Mr. Ebb died three years ago. Not only are there existing productions and revivals, several shows were already in the works. “Curtains” is a relatively recent arrival on Broadway, where the current revival of “Chicago” is in its 11th year. “All About Us,” an adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s “Skin of Our Teeth,” ran this year at the Westport Country Playhouse in Connecticut. Now the Signature Theater in Arlington, Va., under its artistic director, Eric Schaeffer, will celebrate the two collaborators with a festival and full productions of “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “The Happy Time” and “The Visit,” starring Chita Rivera. March 11-June 22. Ticket sales begin Nov. 5. Signature Theater, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, Va., (703) 820-9771; signature-theatre.org.

♦ ARTHUR MILLER FESTIVAL A two-show tribute to one of America’s greatest dramatists features full productions of “Death of a Salesman” and “A View From the Bridge,” both examinations of the elusiveness of the American Dream. Timothy Bond directs “Salesman,” and Daniel Aukin, “View.” March 14-May 18. Fichandler Stage, Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth Street SW, Washington, (202) 488-3300; arenastage.org.

♦ ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA Theater for a New Audience will present Shakespeare’s tragic tale of lovers who sacrifice everything for their passion. Darko Tresnjak, who directed F. Murray Abraham in the company’s “Merchant of Venice” last season, directs. March 22-May 2. The Duke on 42nd Street, 229 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (646) 223-3010; tfana.org.

♦ MARCY IN THE GALAXY This darkly comic new musical — with a book by Michael Patrick King (“Sex and the City”) and Nancy Shayne (ditto), and music and lyrics by Ms. Shayne — is about a middle-aged woman whose dream of being an artist in New York is taking a long time to come true. A night alone at the Galaxy Diner leads to serious self-examination, sweetened by yummy desserts. Jack Cummings III directs the Transport Group production. Previews begin March 28. Opens April 6. Closes April 27. Connelly Theater, 220 East Fourth Street, East Village. Theatermania; transportgroup.org.

♦ CONVERSATIONS IN TUSCULUM The Public Theater will present the world premiere of a history play by Richard Nelson (“James Joyce’s The Dead”) with a cast that includes Brian Dennehy, David Strathairn and Maria Tucci. It is set in the Italian town of Tusculum, outside Rome, in the time of Julius Caesar, but expect some contemporary parallels about a misguided leader. Mr. Nelson directs. Previews begin in late February. Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, East Village, (212) 967-7555; publictheater.org.

STALAG 17 Spike Lee makes his theatrical directing debut on Broadway — there’s nothing like starting at the top — in a revival of the 1951 comedy-drama by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski, the source of the 1953 film starring William Holden. The play, about American prisoners of war in a German camp during World War II, is expected to arrive in late March or early April at a Broadway theater to be announced.

APRIL

♦ BLASTED When Sarah Kane’s first play had its premiere at the Royal Court Theater Upstairs in 1995, audiences and critics were outraged by her frank depictions of rape and torture. Jack Tinker of The Daily Mail in London called it a “disgusting feast of filth,” and other reviewers were similarly horrified at this tale of a middle-aged journalist who rapes a young woman before being raped himself by a nameless soldier. There is more to the story — it involves cannibalism — but let’s just say this is not for the faint of heart. For the intrepid theatergoer, though, it sounds like a must. Ms. Kane, who also wrote “4:48 Psychosis,” hanged herself at the age of 28, in 1999. April 3-24. SoHo Rep, 46 Walker Street,TriBeCa. Smarttix; sohorep.org.

THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES In one of the season’s highly anticipated star turns on Broadway, Annette Bening will play Margot Mason, a feminist literary lioness with writer’s block, deadline pressure and friends and family eager to critique her work (and her mothering skills) in this comedy by the Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith. A young fan who shows up out of the blue sets things in motion. Michael Mayer (“Spring Awakening”) directs. After the American premiere at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, Feb. 5-March 16, previews begin in New York on April 11. Opens April 28. At a theater to be announced.

TOP GIRLS Caryl Churchill’s 1982 play comes to Broadway for the first time in this Manhattan Theater Club production directed by James Macdonald (“Dying City”). Ms. Churchill’s look at the price that an ambitious woman in early 1980s London pays for success in a world dominated by men is more topical than it ought to be 25 years later. (In the spring, the Public Theater will produce Ms. Churchill’s latest play, a co-production with the Royal Court Theater. Dates for that one, “Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?,” have not been set.) Previews begin April 15. Opens May 7. Biltmore Theater, 261 West 47th Street, Manhattan. Telecharge; manhattantheatreclub.com.

♦ STEVE & IDI The ribald playwright David Grimm (“Measure for Pleasure”), who has been known to find inspiration in the classics, heads in a different direction with this tale of a fellow named Steve whose work is going nowhere and whose lover dumps him. It’s then that the ghost of the former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin comes bursting through the window with a strange demand. April/May dates to be announced. Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place, at 11th Street, Greenwich Village. Smarttix; rattlestick.org.

MAY

EDWARD ALBEE’S OCCUPANT The last installment of the Signature Theater Company’s season is a Legacy presentation, a series that revisits works by former playwrights in residence at the theater. For Mr. Albee it will be the fourth major production of his work in the New York area this season. It is a portrait of the artist Louise Nevelson, who was a friend of the author’s. The play’s scheduled 2002 run at Signature had to be canceled when its star, Anne Bancroft, contracted pneumonia during previews. Previews begin May 6. Opens May 29. Closes June 29. Signature Theater Company’s Peter Norton Space, 555 West 42nd Street, Clinton, (212) 244-7529; signaturetheatre.org.

NO, NO, NANETTE Rosie O’Donnell left “The View,” but she’s probably better off in the theater, where there is less backbiting and — well, anyway ... Ms. O’Donnell is coming back to the stage in the final offering of the season’s Encores! musical concert series at City Center. (The first show, “Applause,” starring Christine Ebersole as Margo Channing, with a score by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, runs Feb. 7-10; Marc Blitzstein’s “Juno,” based on Sean O’Casey’s play “Juno and the Paycock,” to be directed by Garry Hynes, follows, March 27-30.) In “Nanette” Ms. O’Donnell has been cast as the wiseacre maid, Pauline; Beth Leavel (“The Drowsy Chaperone”) will play Lucille Early. Walter Bobbie directs. The original production, with music by Vincent Youmans, opened on Broadway in 1925, but it’s the 1971 revival — supervised by Busby Berkeley and adapted and directed by Burt Shevelove — that Encores! will present. May 8-12. City Center, 131 West 55th Street, Manhattan, (212) 581-1212; nycitycenter.org.

♦ SAVED “Are you down with G-O-D?” The students at American Eagle Christian High School sure are in this world premiere musical comedy based on the 2004 film. Celia Keenan-Bolger (“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”) is Mary, the good girl forced to question her beliefs after her boyfriend decides he may be gay. She does all she can to “save” him. The book is by John Dempsey and Rinne Groff, music by Michael Friedman, and the lyrics a team effort by all three. Gary Griffin (“The Color Purple”) directs, with choreography by Sergio Trujillo (“Jersey Boys”). Previews begin May 9. Opens June 3. Closes June 22. Playwrights Horizons Mainstage Theater, 416 West 42nd Street, Clinton. Theatermania; playwrightshorizons.org.

♦ CARDENIO Charles Mee has apparently never met a Greek play he didn’t feel comfortable reworking. But he has not spent that much time mining the Shakespeare canon. Working with a little-known play, “The History of Cardenio” — believed by many scholars to be the work of Shakespeare and John Fletcher, but doubted by others — Mr. Mee and the Shakespeare scholar and author Stephen Greenblatt (“Will in the World”) have teamed up to produce a comedy of love in a contemporary setting. Shakespeare purists will want to proceed with caution. Les Waters directs this American premiere. May 10-June 1. Loeb Drama Center, American Repertory Theater, 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge, Mass., (617) 547-8300; amrep.org.

♦ THE HAPPINESS LECTURE A new work by Bill Irwin is guaranteed to be innovative — and very funny. The actor (“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”) and one-of-a-kind clown muses on dreams, puppets and technology in this new piece commissioned by the Philadelphia Theater Company. May 16-June 15. Suzanne Roberts Theater, 480 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, (215) 985-0420; philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.